It is amazing how one can be lost in the "I need to explain what happens when I use this option" rather than why and where the F^@* would I use this function...

Is it Canon's job to teach us how to use the camera itself, or to teach us how to take good pictures? The why and where seem much more aligned with the latter, and I'd argue that's out of scope for a manual.

I believe the how, the why, the when and the what (and possibly others) go together. I believe manuals need to morf into a compendium of "How to...". I have not figured that out yet, but hope to do that soon (before 5D7 or 8 or 9... whatever...)

.1. Flake, I can't imagine why you'd be sitting around reading a camera manual. Why torment yourself? Go out, watch a sunset, have a beer. Be gentle with yourself, as a philosopher once advised.

2. Litigation is the cause of this nonsense. Akio Morita, cofounder of Sony Corp. devoted a whole chapter to this travesty in his 1986 book, "Made In Japan." Here's the first paragraph of that chapter:

"I once complained to an American friend that it was becoming difficult to find anything actually made in the United States these days, and he said, 'Why don't you take some of our lawyers, a genuine Made in America product!' We both laughed over the joke, but it isn't really funny."

And 26 years later, none of us are laughing. With Canon, as with every major corporation, not a single official word leaks out that is not vetted by lawyers. When I went to work for a national trade association in Washington, DC in 1984 we had a "staff attorney." When I left 10 years later we used an entire floor of our eight-story building to house the legal department. Perhaps, as Shakespeare suggested, we should kill all the lawyers!

3. Many Americans (people in the U.S. that is) are fat. I think stats now say a third are officially "obese." And all you have to do is look at the failing educational systems, the dysfunctional political system and the crumbling infrastructure to realize as a whole, the people really are dumber than dirt. However, it's dangerous to say such things. This country of the fat, dumb and fearful is armed to the damned teeth and has global reach -- over 1000 military installations worldwide, satellites, drones and a president who sits in his office looking at lists of people he decides will or won't be killed in any part of the world. Just a word to the wise -- my lawyers made me say that!

Anyway, I'll get the 5D3 this month. First thing I'm going to do is burn the manual (after getting the necessary environmental permits, of course).

Manuals cover all users, not just the ones who have owned DSLR's before.

However, for advanced topics, you have to look elsewhere.[/quote

I completely agree with Mt. Spokane.

Now, for my two cents - I have a 40D and a 5D MK II. And to be quite honest, I've read their manuals front to back probably a dozen times or more. This isn't because I'm incapable of understanding the information...lol It's because I usually stumble upon a feature i'm unsure of and will take the time to figure it out.

For example - It wasn't until about 4 months ago that I started taking lightning pictures ( Not from my car) but actually setting up under a gazebo (not the best idea either...lol) Anyways, my shots were brilliant. Just awesome....However, I was running into an issue with something....I wasn't quite sure.

The issue - I would take a 20-30 second exposure and then the camera would take the next 20-30 seconds to ( what I thought) to process the image. The funny thing the amateur next to me was snapping away without hesitation....

Pictures came out amazing....I then read somewhere on the net to turn off high ISO noise reduction. So, I turned back to my manual and had another look at it. I had already read that section many many times....and didn't think twice about it.

Long story short...I learned something! When I'm on a paying gig, and I run into an unusual situation, I don't have time to sit there, during the shoot, pull the manual out to figure it out. It's best if you KNOW...really KNOW your equipment so that it's always second nature.

So yes....including what seems like idiotic general information - HAS to be there. If it weren't, someone would find a way to sue canon for their own lack of understanding. Use it as a reference, not an end-all be-all.

I know you were just ranting but may I suggest you skip over the stuff you know about.

I read the manual, too. I just glanced over the basic stuff. It has to be in there for the idiots. Yes, I agree that the general American public is dumb. (And yes, I'm in/from the states). My wife and I have a great time laughing at people when we walk around the mall and hear their dumb comments.... especially the ones who have that THICK California stupid-girl voice. (We're both Californians and neither of us talk like that). This is EVERY time we go out...we hear people say dumb s%&^ all the time.

I know you were just ranting but may I suggest you skip over the stuff you know about.

I read the manual, too. I just glanced over the basic stuff. It has to be in there for the idiots. Yes, I agree that the general American public is dumb. (And yes, I'm in/from the states). My wife and I have a great time laughing at people when we walk around the mall and hear their dumb comments.... especially the ones who have that THICK California stupid-girl voice. (We're both Californians and neither of us talk like that). This is EVERY time we go out...we hear people say dumb s%&^ all the time.

The OP made me chuckle. Yeah, some of those are pretty silly, but like others have said, there are people out there who really need the help. I encountered quite a few of them when I did tech support. Wizard's First Rule.

OTOH, before my 5D3 arrived, I browsed the manual and read up on relevant parts like the AF system and various customization options. Most of the features are pretty obvious to someone familiar with a Canon DSLR, but the camera is way more feature-packed than my previous bodies and I had a much better idea of how I'd customize it when it arrived. There were a few tidbits in the manual that helped me, that would not have been obvious to me without going over it.

Nikon bodies, on the other hand... I was out photographing a waterfall and someone approached me, asking if I knew how to enable the movie mode on their D90. I figured it would be obvious, but I could not figure it out. It's totally obvious to me on Canon bodies without reading a thing. Then again, Nikon does focus backwards...